Discuss the shift of broadcasting authorisation to the Telecommunications Act, 2023. What are its implications for regulatory certainty and the ease of doing business in the media sector?

In February 2025, TRAI recommended that broadcasting services get authorisations under Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023. These would replace licences issued under Section 4 of the colonial-era Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 [1]. The shift promises a modern, light-touch regime, but its benefits depend on the Rules being notified on time.

Nature of the shift

• From licence to authorisation: Section 3 is the Act's authorisation provision [3]. Terms are to be notified as Rules under Section 56 [2].
• Ready for convergence: TRAI added new categories such as ground-based TV broadcasting [1]. In October 2026 it proposed an Application-based Linear TV Distribution (ALTD) sub-category covering FAST apps [2].

Implications for regulatory certainty Positives

• Statutory clarity: one Act and uniform Rules would replace scattered permissions [2].
• Grey zones closed: internet TV apps get a defined category and may carry only Government-approved channels [2].
• Stability: changes to terms, except for national security, would need TRAI's recommendations [1]. ALTD authorisations would be valid for 20 years [2].

Concerns

• Only recommendatory: TRAI's advice under Section 11(1)(a), TRAI Act binds no one until the Rules are notified [2].
• Fragmentation remains: the Parliamentary Standing Committee flagged overlap between TRAI, DoT and MIB. It also found different content standards for cable TV and for OTT platforms, which fall under MeitY's IT Rules [4].
• Unified law pending: the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 is still a draft, and it has no appeal mechanism [5].

Implications for ease of doing business

• Lower costs: the DTH fee would fall from 8% to 3% of AGR, and to zero after FY 2026-27 [1]. ALTD would cost only a ₹10,000 processing fee and a ₹1 lakh entry fee, with no bank guarantee [2].
• Lower entry barriers: the ₹100 crore net-worth condition for ISPs offering IPTV would go, as would mandatory co-location for radio [1].
• Single window: an online portal and a national service area for ALTD [2].
• Caveat: broadcaster-owned apps are excluded from ALTD [2]. Unless broadcasters must offer their content on all platforms, as the Committee urged [4], new entrants may get cheap entry but no content to carry.

The shift moves broadcasting from a colonial licence regime to a statutory framework built for convergence. To deliver on it, the Centre should notify the Section 56 Rules promptly, write in grounds for refusal based on Article 19(2) along with appeal routes, and pass a single broadcasting law. Done this way, it can deliver both investor certainty and the plurality that Article 19(1)(a) protects.